Archives

Archives

floating sidewalk

There are many gems on Lake Union, but one that mostly locals know about (and fiercely protect) is about to disappear. It’s the floating sidewalk adjacent to the Fairview bridge that is itself adjacent to the historic City Light Steam Plant building. The old wooden trestle bridge has done its time and must go and along with it the hidden floating sidewalk – you can’t see it from the roadway.

But it’s there all the same, down a stairway, offering a
brief, delightful refuge from the street. It’s also one of the few places where
you can get close to the lake and view a wide vista, as a friend of mine noted.
Close, for sure, you’re walking right on it; it’s open space, a de facto park.

Pedestrians love the floating sidewalk beside the Fairview trestle.

The bridge will be replaced with something earthquake proof,
streetcar ready, sturdy and modern with bike lanes and look out points. At
first there were only vague promises of bringing back the floating
sidewalk. It was dependent on budget and
permitting, said the city, and that didn’t sound promising. But MariLyn Yim,
SDOT project manager, confirms the floating sidewalk will be rebuilt.

Rendering of new Fairview Avenue Bridge.

She had to do “some trading and swapping and talking [to
get] the floating walkway OK’d,” wrote Jules James, one of its fierce defenders,
in an email.

Closure and demolition of the bridge is expected to happen
this fall, once improvements to Aloha Street are complete as that will be the
detour route.

The roadway next to the historic Steam Plant building is actually an old wooden trestle, reinforced over the years.

Catch the old floating sidewalk now while you still can. It’s just a stone’s throw from MOHAI and the Center for Wooden Boats. Walk up Eastlake Ave. for a close-up view of the historic Steam Plant and its remarkable tilework. (Eastlake Ave. is its front.) Next door is the even older Hydro House, open for breakfast and lunch weekdays with an outdoor patio that faces the lake and overlooks the old bridge.